1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of the play NOT THE FILM of Real Women Have Curves. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?” The stasis of the play takes place in September 1987, early in the morning in East L.A., more specifically in a dressmaking shop where Ana, Estela, Carmen, Pancha, and Rosali work. The dramatic situation that the characters find themselves in as the play unfolds is when they learn Estela does not have her papers due to two crimes she committed and could risk being deported.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken in the play and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? The intrusion of the play takes place when Estela tells the group that she still hasn’t turned in her papers to become a legal resident because of the two “crimes” she committed. She was almost arrested for abducting a lobster and has to appear in court. The other problem is that she has to pay the people that sold her the machines and she is being sued for not giving them any money at all.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place? The unique factor that causes the turn of events to take place is when Glitz doesn’t send Estela her paychecks until they get the clothing order of 100 dresses done by Friday. This causes Estela to be sued by the company that sold her the machines because she has no money to give them, and that in turn leads to her reluctance to send her papers in for legal residency.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.) Dramatic questions that must be answered by the play include: will the group be able to finish their order in time to get the money Estela needs to pay for the machines? Will Estela send her papers in to become a legal resident? WIll Ana be able to go to school?
5. Use Ana, the central character, to answer the questions. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what Ana wants (NOTE: In Real Women Ana's wants seem to be in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles. In Real Women Have Curves, Ana faces conflicts ranging from me against society, me against another individual, and me against fate. When Ana faces off against society, she is usually testing what was to be the ‘social norm.’ For example, when Carmen, Estela, Pancha, and Rosali were looking at the “dirty book,” Ana implied that she knew a lot more about sex in general than they thought she did. Her mother states that her husband wouldn’t like her knowing so much about the subject, and Pancha agrees and states that a “girl shouldn’t know so much.” Ana disagreed and stated that she was a women. Another example could be when Esperanza was on the radio and a women being abused by her husband asked how she could speak to him. Ana expressed her disdain for such relationships even though the social norm was to be silent about the topic. Ana faces off against different individuals such as her mom and her sister. Carmen wants Ana to be slim, believing that slim is the only way one could be beautiful. But Ana decides that she wants to keep on her weight as a way of telling the world that they cannot rule over her looks. She and her sister have a conflict in that her sister believes she looks down on her, but in reality Ana sees her as successful and has to explain to Estela that she is a role model. Ana faces against fate in a way because she feels as though she cannot be stuck in East L.A. Ana wants so badly to become a writer, and the play makes it seem as if what could be her worst nightmare would be being stuck in the dressmaking business forever.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Real Women Have Curves. The most theatrical moments in Real Women Have Curves is when Estela announces that she is still illegal, when Ana prompts the group to take off their clothes, and when Estela calls the Glitz company after getting their paychecks to quit. In the play, it seems as if most of the characters are slowly coming off the idea that they have to hide, but still have what could be named the “phantom mentality” of avoiding police and “la migra” or the immigration officers. When Estela reveals that she still doesn’t have her papers, it allows for the group to investigate why and see if they can fix the problem. When Ana prompts the group to take off their clothes because of the heat in the shop, they confront their bodies and find that they are in fact beautiful and that their looks shouldn’t be seen as negative, “just different.” They then go off and begin to dream about fashion made for them instead of skinnier people and the future of Estela’s business that later becomes a reality. When Estela calls Glitz to quit after they received paychecks, it seems as though she is releasing herself from fear and the chains set on her by harsh reality and allowing herself to dream. It was only then, after standing up to the company that took advantage because she was illegal, that she and her business was able to grow.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Real Women. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”) Three images in the play are: the restroom, the machines, and the mannequins. The restroom is an image because it also serves as the only place Ana can write in peace without worrying about being disturbed during the day. Between school, the shop, and chores, writing became almost impossible. The restroom became one of her only places left to write. The machines are an image because they basically stand in the way of Estela getting her papers. If she is able to pay the company that gave her the machines off, she would be able to send in her forms. The mannequins are images because they are restrictions to the sizes that the women can make. Plus sizes were not included in the shop, and even then, they were making dresses for size sevens. The mannequins make look just like they are on the outside, but on the inside they show the societal norm when it comes to weight in the real world and fashion.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Real Women. Themes in Real Women Have Curves include acceptance, fear, and family. Acceptance came into play when the women took off their clothes and accepted their bodies for what they were. Fear could be seen whenever the group thought immigration officers were either around or near. Even Estela made sure the doors were shut closed in the midst of the hot summer heat, and she made the women do special knocks before she opened them. Family can be seen throughout it by showing how close the women are. They talk as if they are a family themselves, and even fight like families at times. They show care for one another just like a true family would.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Real Women? Is family redefined in this play? If so, how and why? Because of their sisterhood, they work together to make sure Estela gets the paycheck she needs from Glitz. They even give Estela their own money just to make sure she has enough. Other dramatic points, such as when Carmen found out it was menopause and not a baby or when Estela and Ana’s talk about her success and about her “tormento” also show the sense of family between them as well as the whole group. Family is redefined in the play in that it becomes something people can find virtually anywhere. Their family was a sisterhood that strengthened them as people every time they walked into the dress shop in East L.A. It showed that family didn’t have to mean a mother, father, and child living in a house behind a picket fence.
1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of the play NOT THE FILM of Real Women Have Curves. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
The stasis of the play takes place in September 1987, early in the morning in East L.A., more specifically in a dressmaking shop where Ana, Estela, Carmen, Pancha, and Rosali work. The dramatic situation that the characters find themselves in as the play unfolds is when they learn Estela does not have her papers due to two crimes she committed and could risk being deported.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken in the play and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion of the play takes place when Estela tells the group that she still hasn’t turned in her papers to become a legal resident because of the two “crimes” she committed. She was almost arrested for abducting a lobster and has to appear in court. The other problem is that she has to pay the people that sold her the machines and she is being sued for not giving them any money at all.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The unique factor that causes the turn of events to take place is when Glitz doesn’t send Estela her paychecks until they get the clothing order of 100 dresses done by Friday. This causes Estela to be sued by the company that sold her the machines because she has no money to give them, and that in turn leads to her reluctance to send her papers in for legal residency.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Dramatic questions that must be answered by the play include: will the group be able to finish their order in time to get the money Estela needs to pay for the machines? Will Estela send her papers in to become a legal resident? WIll Ana be able to go to school?
5. Use Ana, the central character, to answer the questions. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, the dramatic actions that are taken by that character. Examine what Ana wants (NOTE: In Real Women Ana's wants seem to be in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles.
In Real Women Have Curves, Ana faces conflicts ranging from me against society, me against another individual, and me against fate. When Ana faces off against society, she is usually testing what was to be the ‘social norm.’ For example, when Carmen, Estela, Pancha, and Rosali were looking at the “dirty book,” Ana implied that she knew a lot more about sex in general than they thought she did. Her mother states that her husband wouldn’t like her knowing so much about the subject, and Pancha agrees and states that a “girl shouldn’t know so much.” Ana disagreed and stated that she was a women. Another example could be when Esperanza was on the radio and a women being abused by her husband asked how she could speak to him. Ana expressed her disdain for such relationships even though the social norm was to be silent about the topic. Ana faces off against different individuals such as her mom and her sister. Carmen wants Ana to be slim, believing that slim is the only way one could be beautiful. But Ana decides that she wants to keep on her weight as a way of telling the world that they cannot rule over her looks. She and her sister have a conflict in that her sister believes she looks down on her, but in reality Ana sees her as successful and has to explain to Estela that she is a role model. Ana faces against fate in a way because she feels as though she cannot be stuck in East L.A. Ana wants so badly to become a writer, and the play makes it seem as if what could be her worst nightmare would be being stuck in the dressmaking business forever.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Real Women Have Curves.
The most theatrical moments in Real Women Have Curves is when Estela announces that she is still illegal, when Ana prompts the group to take off their clothes, and when Estela calls the Glitz company after getting their paychecks to quit. In the play, it seems as if most of the characters are slowly coming off the idea that they have to hide, but still have what could be named the “phantom mentality” of avoiding police and “la migra” or the immigration officers. When Estela reveals that she still doesn’t have her papers, it allows for the group to investigate why and see if they can fix the problem. When Ana prompts the group to take off their clothes because of the heat in the shop, they confront their bodies and find that they are in fact beautiful and that their looks shouldn’t be seen as negative, “just different.” They then go off and begin to dream about fashion made for them instead of skinnier people and the future of Estela’s business that later becomes a reality. When Estela calls Glitz to quit after they received paychecks, it seems as though she is releasing herself from fear and the chains set on her by harsh reality and allowing herself to dream. It was only then, after standing up to the company that took advantage because she was illegal, that she and her business was able to grow.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Real Women. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
Three images in the play are: the restroom, the machines, and the mannequins. The restroom is an image because it also serves as the only place Ana can write in peace without worrying about being disturbed during the day. Between school, the shop, and chores, writing became almost impossible. The restroom became one of her only places left to write. The machines are an image because they basically stand in the way of Estela getting her papers. If she is able to pay the company that gave her the machines off, she would be able to send in her forms. The mannequins are images because they are restrictions to the sizes that the women can make. Plus sizes were not included in the shop, and even then, they were making dresses for size sevens. The mannequins make look just like they are on the outside, but on the inside they show the societal norm when it comes to weight in the real world and fashion.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Real Women.
Themes in Real Women Have Curves include acceptance, fear, and family. Acceptance came into play when the women took off their clothes and accepted their bodies for what they were. Fear could be seen whenever the group thought immigration officers were either around or near. Even Estela made sure the doors were shut closed in the midst of the hot summer heat, and she made the women do special knocks before she opened them. Family can be seen throughout it by showing how close the women are. They talk as if they are a family themselves, and even fight like families at times. They show care for one another just like a true family would.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Real Women? Is family redefined in this play? If so, how and why?
Because of their sisterhood, they work together to make sure Estela gets the paycheck she needs from Glitz. They even give Estela their own money just to make sure she has enough. Other dramatic points, such as when Carmen found out it was menopause and not a baby or when Estela and Ana’s talk about her success and about her “tormento” also show the sense of family between them as well as the whole group. Family is redefined in the play in that it becomes something people can find virtually anywhere. Their family was a sisterhood that strengthened them as people every time they walked into the dress shop in East L.A. It showed that family didn’t have to mean a mother, father, and child living in a house behind a picket fence.